I feel like interweaving vignettes of dozens of peoples lives shouldn't work so well, and yet, the style of this remarkable book is perfect. An examination of the lives, particularly the love lives, of some of the most notable denizens of Europe from 1929-1939, this book evokes passion, fascination, and dread. It's frankly incredibly difficult to describe, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'm annoyed that I can't keep picking it up indefinitely to read more of these stories.